Craphole Island
by Faran1078
Summary: Set after DNH, the beginnings of a completely different phase in Boone and Shannons' relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Shannon found him in what she considered a rather unlikely place. She'd been heading up the path from the beach to the caves and had thought she'd heard rustling off to her left. Aware of the sounds of normal bird noises, not the complete silence that they'd all learned signalled danger, she pushed through the foliage.

He was lying on his back, his splinted right leg propped up on a small boulder by the heel of his hiking boot, his walking stick and green bag by his side.

The Beechcraft incident had been seven weeks prior, so she should have realized that he'd become a bit more mobile.

"Boone?" She called tentatively.

He started, drawing a sharp intake of breath, he'd almost been asleep; the walk from the caves had taken a lot of his energy, everything took too much from him these days it seemed, he was almost constantly exhausted sometimes to the point of incoherence. Just last night he'd been in the middle of a conversation with Hurley, when the guy had looked at him and said "Llama?"

"Wha?" Boone had shaken himself back into awareness, not having a clue what Hugo was talking about, only marginally aware that he was still sitting by the fire.

"Dude, we were talking about the Santa Monica freeway, and you started mumbling something about the llama's stampeding," his friend told him. When Boone failed to respond, just staring through him instead, Hurley had all but carried him back to his sleeping pallet in his cave and gently put him to bed.

Boone rolled his head, glancing at her briefly, before assuming his prior position and closing his eyes again.

"So the princess is deigning to speak to me." He laughed bitterly. "Let's see, I'm obviously not physically capable of performing some life saving miracle for her, so she must be here to amuse herself with some kind of psychological cruelty. Lucky me, I can't wait."

Shannon's shoulders slumped; he had no reason to think any other way. She'd not seen him, except for catching glimpses of him as he recuperated in the area by the caves, in almost six weeks. It had been too hard for her, her awakening feelings and the condition she'd been forced to come to terms with enough for her to deal with, without visiting him as well.

"Boone, stop." She said in a small voice, this was going to be hard enough as it was.

There was something in her voice that made him pause and look up at her again. She may have been better at reading him, than he her, but he knew immediately that there was something wrong, something seriously wrong.

"Shan?" He sat and started the laborious chore of getting to his feet. He didn't wheeze anymore, the collapsed lung had healed itself, but it was still a struggle for him.

She moved forward to try and help him, almost crying at the effort it was taking him. Her perfect, beautiful big brother, reduced to this, because he'd come for her, because she'd called him and he couldn't say no.

When he was finally upright, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck, her shoulders shaking as she cried. He dropped the walking stick and drew her into a closer embrace, murmuring into her ear, comforting her as he'd done so many times in the past, even given his earlier bitterness, automatically reverting to type. She needed him and he was there, immediately and completely, no thought of himself at all.

When she got the crying under control, she pulled slowly away from him, her head still down.

She suddenly became aware, as he wobbled unsteadily, most of his weight on just his left leg; that she'd been acting as his secondary means of support.

"Oh, shit, Boone. I'm sorry." She reached down and handed him his island version of a pair of crutches.

"Thanks." He wrapped his hand gratefully around the pole, regaining his balance. He looked at her searchingly. "So, are you going to tell me what's up?"

Shannon looked at him for so long, if he'd been a smoker, he figured he could have inhaled a king size right down to the filter easily.

"Sit down." Shannon gestured at the large boulder behind him.

Boone frowned, this couldn't be good, but had no idea what she possibly had to say. The ocean had run out of fish, Kate had hooked up with Hurley, what?

When he was seated, she still took at least another minute before licking her lips, and swallowing. "I'm pregnant."

Boone sat still, very still, the blow hurting almost more than when he'd fallen out of the tree in the plane. "I see." He squeezed his eyes shut, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Does Sayid know?" He'd heard through the island grapevine that they weren't together anymore, for whatever reason, but they'd certainly had the opportunity to have sex before the split.

"Sayid? Why would I tell him?" Shannon asked puzzled, before realizing exactly why he was asking. Of course he'd automatically assume it was Sayid's.

"Pfft, well, don't you normally tell the father first?" He rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head.

"I am," she said gently.

His eyes got wide and his breathing a bit erratic. "W…w…what?" he stammered.

"You're the father Boone, the baby's yours." She smiled a small smile at him.

He was sure he was going to pass out, his heart was hammering so loudly in his ears that he was seeing stars. He realized that he was almost gasping for air. "M…m…mine?"

She nodded; then realized that he was close to fainting, his face white, with two bright spots of colour on his cheeks, his eyes a bit wild. She crossed the clearing and grabbed his green bag, knowing that the ever prepared Boone would have water in it and sure enough, she was right, he was so predictable. She uncapped the bottle and placed it in his nerveless fingers, guiding it to his lips. He sucked back the liquid, almost choking in his haste, some of it dribbled down his chin, temporarily staining the grey of his t-shirt dark.

"You're sure?" Boone asked when he could speak again.

"What?" Shannon laughed. "That I'm pregnant or that it's yours?" Now that she'd actually said the word out loud twice it was becoming easier, that plus the fact that she'd finally shared her secret. "Trust me Boone; I'm right on both counts."

Brian had had a vasectomy several years earlier, or so he'd told her, but she'd still made him wear a condom every time anyway. Her short relationship with Sayid had never gotten to that stage, the Beechcraft incident and her realization of the depth of her feelings for her brother causing her to break it off. No, there'd only been Boone, and that one night, the one and only unprotected sexual experience she'd ever had.

'I'm going to be a father, oh my god.' The words repeated over and over in his head, as a smile slowly grew on his face.

Shannon watched while the words sunk in. He'd always wanted a large family, he'd told her that many times, so she'd been pretty confident what his reaction was going to be once he got over the shock that the family he'd been hoping for was going to be with her. She wasn't sure how he was going to take the rest of what she had to say though.

Putting the bottle down and grabbing his stick, he heaved himself to his feet and, grinning like an idiot, leaned in and kissed her cheek, not certain what she intended for the relationship between them. He only hoped that she'd let him participate in the raising of their child, but didn't want to get his spirits up. She'd disappointed him so many times, but he still loved her anyway.

"Congratulations Shan, to us both, I guess." Then it struck him that maybe she wasn't quite as thrilled as he was, even though he noted that she was smiling, with her eyes as well as her mouth, a real genuine smile. "That is, I mean, if you're happy about it. I just, I assumed…. I mean, are you?" he asked, wincing a bit.

"I'm okay with it Boone. I've had some time to get used to the idea and I'm actually more that just okay with it, I'm really happy." She assured him.

He looked relieved and started grinning again.

Shannon took a breath; ready to tell him the rest. "But there's more, Boone."

As she professed her love for him, he looked stunned all over again, and then when he made love to her, it was her turn to be stunned.


	2. Chapter 2

They'd gotten dressed and Shannon was just strapping the splint to his leg again, when they heard Hurley.

"Dude? Hey man, Boone? You out here, dude?"

Boone stole a final kiss, letting his tongue roam freely, intoxicated by the heady feeling. Shannon giggled girlishly, further inciting his passion.

With difficulty he broke away, "I'm here man."

It sounded like a herd of elephants was approaching them, then Hurley burst through the jungle. "Hey dude, I was…oh, Shannon." His smile came out as more of a grimace. "Hey."

"Hurley," She acknowledged, letting her hand linger on Boone's thigh just long enough for the newest occupant of the clearing to notice.

He stared at the two of them, "Yeah, right, okay." He mumbled, thinking that his impression of what they'd been doing must be completely wrong. "So, Boone, dude, you ready?" he asked with a bit more focus.

"Sure." Boone struggled to his feet, the two of them helping him.

Boone had already explained to Shannon about his daily physiotherapy sessions with Hurley, so she was aware of where they were heading.

They stopped twice more before they reached the beach, Boone's inability to go very far without rest the reason, the conversation at a minimum. Boone had so many questions to ask Shannon that he thought he'd burst, but none of them were appropriate in front of Hugo. Boone had been too caught up in the surrealism of their encounter in the clearing, the Kafkaesque nature of her dual reveal, to actually be able to pose real world questions when they were alone. He kept glancing at her frequently, still trying to sort out the completely unexpected and abrupt about face their relationship had taken. He was half convinced that it was another of the "wacky-paste" induced hallucinations, but every time he shot a look over his shoulder she was there smiling at him softly. Hurley glanced between the two of them as if trying to figure out if they were playing some kind of practical joke on him.

Shannon had arrived at the caves just as Jack was closing Boone's eyes, and had screamed "No" in anguish and then dissolved into tears. Jack had looked up at her, tears in his own eyes, brow furrowed in misery.

"I'm sorry. I promised him I'd save him, but then he let me off the hook when I couldn't." Jack stared back down at the dead man before him, the lines of pain smoothed out from the pale, blood streaked face by death. Suddenly Boone's body jerked and the horrible wet gargling breathing had started up again. Jack mouth fell open in stunned amazement and the fight to save her brother's life had started up again.

It had been touch and go of course, Jack and Sun didn't know just how Boone was managing to stay alive; they only knew that he was and that he seemed, while not necessarily to be getting any stronger, at least not losing any ground either. Equally astonishing was that the leg that had seemed dead, once again had colour in the toes, and warmth in the flesh, so any thought of amputation was banished. Shannon sat by his side hour after hour, day after day, pouring small amounts of water and broth into his slightly parted lips, sponging the fever induced sweat from his face and torso.

She'd been sure at one point that he'd finally succumbed to his injuries when she awoke after inadvertently falling asleep, her face pressed against his hip, and a dead weight on her head. She jerked away from the unexpected pressure causing Boone's hand to fall lifelessly from where he'd found the strength to place it while she slept. She stared at the hand certain that it had been his dying gesture, before fearfully raising her eyes to see with relief that his chest still rose and fell shallowly under the thin layer of blanket covering him. That was when she became aware of the struggling wheeze of his breathing over the slowly diminished pounding of blood in her own ears. It was one of the last signs of awareness that he displayed for almost a week.

Three days after he'd moved his hand and he still hadn't regained consciousness again, Shannon spoke of her fear to Jack. "It's been days. Why isn't he awake? What if he never wakes up again?" She was exhausted and cranky, worn to the bone from sleeplessness and worry, and to top it off she was often nauseous and had thrown up at least once each morning for the past several days in a row, something she chalked up to the tenseness of the situation and had managed to keep secret. It wasn't too hard to hide for a former bulimic.

"Shannon I just don't know." How Boone was even still alive was a mystery to Jack, Sun had been right the night of the boys' accident, he should have been dead, he was too far gone for saving, even _if_ they'd been in a fully equipped hospital. "Maybe his body is keeping his brain shut down to save himself the pain. We don't have anything to give him for it. Just the broken leg alone would be agony even without the rest of it." Jack had shaken his head and patted the girls' thin shoulder. "I'm sure he'll wake up when he's ready." It was a small comfort, but he didn't have anything else to offer her. Bedside manner had never been his strong suit anyway.

They finally reached a secluded cove, some distance from the beach camp. Hurley waited while Boone stripped down to his boxers, carefully removing the splint again with Shannon's assistance. The two of them heaved him to his feet where he wrapped his right arm securely around Hugo's shoulders. The mercifully still fully clothed larger man helped him through the surf and into deeper water, while Shannon spread his t-shirt on the sand and sat on it carefully. She watched while Boone held on to Hurley, using him as an horizontal bar while he worked his way though several exercises. After half an hour, they had a brief conversation and then Boone let go, swimming away, parallel to the shore while Hugo made his way to shore.

Shannon stood and met him at the shore line, concern on her face. "You're leaving him out there alone?"

He shrugged, "He likes to swim for a while when we're done."

"He almost drowned in that ocean when we first crashed! And he still had two functioning legs then! What if he gets caught in a rip tide again?" She demanded in a shrill voice.

"Jin checked this place out. He said because it's so protected by the two spits that it's safe, and I watch him pretty carefully. If there's trouble I'll go back in and grab him. He's careful about not going out too deep. He just goes back and forth." As if to prove a point, Boone paused in his strokes and turned back around swimming in the opposite direction, still maintaining a safe distance from shore. Shannon had watched enough of his swim meets to see that his forward progress was slightly less smooth than his usual swimming style as he compensated for the diminished ability of his right leg. She glanced at Hurley somewhat doubtfully, wondering just how quickly the guy could get to her brothers' aid if he actually required help.

Hurley correctly interpreted her look, "I'd get to him in time, I'm spry."

Shannon frowned a bit, raising a not entirely convinced eyebrow then moved back up the beach to sit again on Boone's shirt, Hurley falling heavily into the sand at her side.

"Sooooo, uhm, haven't seen you around much." He fished awkwardly for information.

"No." She answered shortly, then leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to decide just how much to tell him.

"Boone doesn't mention it at all, but I think he's missed you." In fact any time Hurley had brought up Shannon's name, Boone had abruptly changed the subject; eventually he'd taken the hint and dropped it totally.

"I missed him too." She said a bit wistfully.

"Then why'd you stay away?" He wondered.

"He's not my brother, you know, not my real brother. Did he tell you that?" She blurted out the apparent non-sequitur.

Hurley shook his head, "What?"

She went on to explain their true relationship, as it had existed before her revelation of earlier that day.

"Cool." He didn't really have anything else to say, and wondered why she was telling him this now and just why she'd started coming around again? They continued to monitor Boone carefully as he ploughed back and forth in front of them.

Shannon looked over her shoulder at him as if gauging him in some way, obviously not finding him lacking, "I'm pregnant," she blurted.

"Whoa, dude!" His mouth fell open.

She laughed at his catch-all appellation for everyone, regardless of their sex. "It's Boone's." She said more seriously.

"What!" His mouth opened even wider.

Shannon nodded.

"Whoa!" He drew the word out in amazement, staring at her dumbfounded. "I did _not_ see that one coming!"

She explained a little bit about the circumstances, leaving out as much as she could; it had just been the once, the night before the flight, she'd only just told Boone about the baby today, they were both exited about it.

Hurley nodded through the whole thing a smile growing on his face. "Right on! Jesus! Everyone's going to have a cow when you tell 'em! I gotta be there, promise me you won't tell them all unless I get to watch!"

Shannon laughed, "You can be our very own Jeff Probst if you want." She put on an "announcer" style voice, "The big reveal tonight on Survivor: Craphole Island edition with your host Hugo Reyes."

He sat up straighter, "I always wanted to host one of those tribal councils." He glanced out at the water; Boone was bobbing just off shore, only his head and shoulders showing. He'd learned not to try and stand in even the most mildly surging surf; he simply didn't have the stability for it with only one leg. He raised one arm up and waved it at Hurley when he saw he'd gotten his attention.

"He's done." Hurley announced, standing. He held his hand down to help her up.

"Tell him I'll see him at the caves later. I'm going to go back to the beach and get my stuff together." Unexpectedly Shannon leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for watching over my brother."

Hurley grinned and shrugged shyly. "It's cool, no prob." He turned to go and fetch his charge while she headed down the sand.

"Where's Shannon going?" Boone asked as soon as Hurley reached him.

He delivered her message as he assisted Boone to shore and lowered him to sit in the sand. He always needed time to recuperate after his daily aquatherapy session, it gave the sun time to dry him off and recharge his batteries, most days he napped for a while as well.

"She told you then?" Boone surmised as Hurley sat beside him.

"Yeah, dude. You guys are going to blow everyone's socks off! Right on!" He gave Boone two thumbs up and then impulsively leaned forward and pulled him into a bone crushing bear hug. Boone wheezed for breath as he pounded his fists against the guy, trying to get him to let go. Hurley finally clued in and released him muttering apologies. Boone collapsed back onto the sand gasping for air. He wobbled a bit as he shook his head and tried to clear it of the stars he was seeing before his eyes, then he leaned back on his elbows to rest.

"It's a little surreal, let me tell you." Boone said when he'd regained the use of his voice. They discussed the situation a little longer, Boone's head dropping farther and farther forward, longer gaps in his responses as his exhaustion mixed with the warmth of the sun and sand lulled him into a snooze. Hurley took a second to look into the horizon as he pondered Boone's latest comment, and by the time he turned back to the guy, Boone was stretched out full in the sand, fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

It was late, far later than he'd expected it to be, yet still he waited, sitting by the fire propped up against a rock, the pillow he'd brought from his bed cushioning his back from the harsh granite. Boone stared into the fire, and wondered if she'd played him again. He could feel Hurley's eyes on him every now and then, and figured that the guy was wondering the very same thing. His head drooped towards his chest, his eyes sliding half closed as he fought to stay awake. 'Just five more minutes,' he thought, 'I'll just give her _ten_ more minutes, in _fifteen_ minutes I'll go to bed.' He negotiated with himself, once again buying Shannon more time.

He felt eyes watching him again and heard the murmur of voices, his head jerked up and he looked towards the sounds, hoping but not expecting. This time he was wrong.

Shannon was standing across the open space, her carry-on in her hand, her huge suitcase by her side. She smiled at him softly and moved towards him, leaving the larger case behind, striding right through the centre of camp, as always making a beeline for what she wanted, that she might be inconveniencing anyone else was not a concern to her. She knelt by his side once she reached him. Many eyes were on the pair; she'd certainly seen to it that she'd drawn attention.

"Hi," She greeted quietly.

"Hey." His smile grew to a grin.

"I'm sorry it's so late. But I didn't think you'd want me wandering through the jungle at night, so I had to wait until someone was coming this way." The fact that she'd actually considered his wishes surprised him as much as her apology. Shannon never made excuses for her actions.

Boone nodded. "No, I wouldn't have. Thanks for thinking of me."

Shannon tipped her head and narrowed her eyes at him in speculation. "You didn't think I was coming, did you?"

"I…I wasn't sure." There was no use in lying to her, she'd just see right though him anyway.

"You're such a bonehead." Her hand came up and cupped his cheek as she leaned in to kiss him.

"Bloody hell!" Charlie exclaimed, eyes wide in astonishment.

Hurley leaned back, a grin on his face as he enjoyed the show as it unfolded. He wished he had a bowl of double butter popcorn and a Dr. Pepper Big Gulp.

The two continued kissing, Boone's hand now buried in her hair. They were completely oblivious to their surroundings, totally absorbed in each other to the exclusion of all else.

The muted furor spread quickly, people stared and muttered. "What are they doing?" "She's his sister." "Have they lost their minds?" Eventually the commotion drew Jack's attention; he came out of the medical area to see what the hubbub was about, and stopped abruptly at the sight. Looking around at all the disturbed faces he saw one that was anything but, in fact Hurley looked a little like the cat that ate the canary. Jack headed for him.

"What's going on here?" Jack demanded.

"Uhm, dude, looks like they're kissing," Hurley stated the obvious.

Jack gave him a flat stare and waited.

Hurley fidgeted under the glare, "Look, they told me this afternoon."

"Told you what?" Jack asked in exasperation, he kept glancing at Boone and Shannon, still in a lip lock; Boone's other hand now sliding up and down her back.

"He's not her brother." Hurley said quietly and explained their real relationship, he left out the pregnancy part; that was theirs to reveal when they chose.

"So, somehow that leads to kissing?" Jack wrinkled his forehead and held his hands wide waiting for more. "What am I missing here?"

The two had finally broken apart and were speaking quietly to each other. Shannon stood and reached down to help her brother up, handing him his pole, and grabbing the pillow. She tucked it under her arm and picked up her carry on. They'd forgotten all about the larger bag.

"What's going on here?" Charlie called to them, unintentionally echoing Jack's question to Hurley, not intending to let them leave without an explanation of their outrageous behaviour.

Shannon had her hand on the small of Boone's back; she would have held his hand, but both were gripped around his staff; they were already heading for his quarters. She paused and glanced over her shoulder at Hugo and gave him a grin and a conspiratorial wink, "Just ask Jeff." She indicated him with a chuckle and a nod.

They heard him start to explain to the group as they left.

It was dark in his cave when they let the flap that was strung across the entrance fall closed behind them, but still light enough that she could see the interior. It was prim and tidy just as she expected, everything put away in its proper place. Even handicapped the way he was, Boone had still managed to make the space reflect his personality. She looked towards the floor; the sleeping pallet was wide enough for two she noticed.

Boone followed her gaze and suddenly realized that perhaps he'd jumped to a wrong conclusion. "I got someone to bring me some extra rushes this afternoon. I hope it's okay. I mean, I didn't want to assume, but…"

"It's fine, Boone. Stop being so nervous," Shannon rested a calming hand on his shoulder. "Of course I'm going to sleep with you."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "You know, I've never had anyone live with me before. I've had girlfriends stay over, but none of them have ever moved in."

"Is that what I am, Boone? Your girlfriend?" Shannon raised an eyebrow as she looked at him in amusement.

"My girlfriend?" He repeated doubtfully, and scratched his head. "Sounds a little silly, doesn't it?" Shannon nodded. "Well, it's kind of inappropriate for me to call you my sister anymore, and you aren't my wife." His head jerked up at the final word, alarm in his eyes. She might not actually be his wife in fact, but he suddenly realized that she might just as well be. She was pregnant with his child, and now living with him, this was a forever thing; a 'till death do you part' commitment. He felt the room swim as the full implications of the events of the day hammered at him, his chest constricted in panic. The pole fell with a clatter as his trembling hand lost its' grip. He whimpered and began to hyperventilate.

"Boone! Sit down." Shannon grabbed him as he teetered unsteadily. He dropped to his butt in the middle of the floor unceremoniously, his broken leg shooting out sideways painfully. He grabbed his leg just above the knee and squeezed it, grimacing and gritting his teeth, moaning, then slid one hand down and lifted it, carefully resettling his foot in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Shannon asked, leaning forward and peering at him. His face was ghostly white with pain, but bright red on the cheeks from his panic. His eyes stared sightlessly at the far wall as he panted shakily. He'd been looking forward to her arrival all day, had prepared for it actually, as she'd just noted from the increased size of his bed, but now that the reality of it was staring him in the face, quite literally, he was having trouble coming to terms with his new situation. Shannon had had time to process it, but it had all been dropped on him like a piano from an open fourth floor window. Just add water, and poof, instant family, except that she and the baby weren't a cup of Folgers. He gagged once as his stomach clenched.

"You aren't going to puke on me are you?" Shannon asked moving away just a little, in case he did exactly that. "I'm the pregnant one here, puking rights are already reserved."

That seemed to get his attention. "You have morning sickness?" Boone asked, relieved to have some thing else to focus on, his concern for her immediately taking over.

"Of course I do." Shannon laughed at him, "You'll probably witness it first hand tomorrow."

"Ugh, lucky me," He took a shaky breath and looked down at his hands, "Look, Shan. I'm excited, I really am, but this is going to take some getting used to, it's all so fast, just don't be surprised if I freak every now and then."

"I wouldn't expect anything else, you're always a freak." Shannon punched lightly at his shoulder.

"Funny." Boone commented dryly with a wry grin that faded slowly. "I love you," he added.

"I know." Shannon leaned in and kissed him, then helped him to the bed. He sat and looked at her a little uncertainly after he removed his boots, the circles under his eyes dark, almost bruising.

"We don't have to do anything Boone. We can just sleep you know." Shannon assured him, he'd seemed so exhausted by the fire when she'd first seen him she didn't want him to think he was obligated in any way.

He nodded, "I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, beautiful girl in my bed and all, but if you don't mind, I am kind of tired, still recuperating."

"Sleep, Boone." Shannon directed.

He lay back, and she joined him, both still fully clothed, he held his arm up so she could fit against his side. This at least was familiar territory, they'd slept like this often, usually in his bed when she stole in to comfort him during a thunderstorm, or she'd awaken terrified after a nightmare and seek solace from the presence of her big brother. She'd sneak into his room and slip under his covers, pressing her freezing feet against the warmth of his leg. He usually gave a high-pitched girlish squeal when she'd startle him awake, the sound always making her laugh.

Boone kissed the top of her head, "Sleep well, Shan," he whispered, his eyes already closed.

Sometime during the night, they awakened, quickly arousing each other. Hands fumbled in the dark, zippers were lowered, stubborn buttons snagged in their buttonholes before finally succumbing. They didn't even try to take the splint off, they just peeled Boones' jeans and boxers off his left leg and left the right pant leg on, pushed down to the top of the wooden supports, his underwear flung into the darkness.

Their bodies met, melded and slid over each other, already becoming familiar to the participants simply through touch. Shannon bit his neck gently then moved up to his ear. Boone hissed and groaned as she sucked the lobe into her mouth and worked it thoroughly, his body shuddering as he lost himself in her, his cries echoing quietly in the natural acoustic chamber created by the thick stone walls of his home. Some time later, spent, they lay together, pale sweat sheened limbs entwined as sleep claimed them again.

Boone awoke in the morning disoriented, wondering why he was mostly naked and why it felt like there was a small dog on his chest. He blinked and looked down. It wasn't a dog, but a head, a few strands of Shannon's hair snuck up his nose, threatening to make him sneeze. He fought back the urge as the events of the past day flooded his awareness. He smiled as he replayed it like his own personal video in his head, closing his eyes and savouring the two times they'd made love, he wanted to wake her and make it a third time, but once again fought back against one of his urges. She was pregnant with their child, she needed her sleep, and besides, a Shannon awakened at this hour would most likely display a side of her that was not particularly pleasant.

Boone wisely decided to try and sneak out from under her, without unduly disrupting her to the point where she woke and snapped on his ass.

Successfully extricating himself, he breathed a sigh of relief as she settled into the place he'd just vacated. He watched her for a minute, stunned that she was actually his. Unable to leave well enough alone he rose to his knees; leaned over her and whispered in her ear, "Shannon Rutherford, I love you." Trying to pull back he realized that he'd overbalanced slightly and almost fell on her, thrusting his hands out in a panic Boone braced them against the wall in an attempt to stop himself from toppling onto her. He breathed a shaky sigh of relief as his forward progress was arrested, then he shoved hard against the wall and rocked back on his heels. The broken leg twinged in pain and an end of one of the splints gouged into his thigh, the 'fuck' that threatened to escape his lips was only barely swallowed back.

Boone struggled to his feet, worked his left foot into its pant leg, and pulled the jeans up, buttoning them but not zipping, he was only going to take them off anyway. He didn't even consider going to retrieve his wayward boxers. He grabbed his towel that was hanging from the branch he'd jammed into a crevasse in the wall and, tucking it through a belt loop to leave both hands free, poled and hobbled as quietly as he could out of the room.

Someone had dragged Shannon's bag over and left it just outside the door. Boone shrugged and settled on it, using the convenience of it as a seat. He looked around the deserted camp; as usual he was the first one up. Once again the ties that held the splint to his leg were undone and the entire device carefully placed to one side, God he was getting tired of the thing. He'd love to just abandon it, but he hadn't gotten the green light from Jack yet, and was too concerned about re-injuring it to make that kind of decision on his own. He stood long enough to undo his pants and let them fall to his ankles then sat again to work his feet out of them. Wrapping his towel around his waist he headed for the makeshift shower arrangement.

Boone dropped the towel onto a clean flat rock and pulled on the leather thong that held back the sluice gate, releasing the water to run down the bamboo pipe and spill over the spout. It was warm at first, the water that had stood in the cistern heated by the sun, but it quickly changed to the colder natural temperature of the stream that fed it. He scooped a handful of the homemade soap that they'd fashioned and scrubbed himself thoroughly with it, teetering dangerously on just one leg.

"Boone." A female voice greeted.

He automatically opened his eyes, getting a stinging trickle of soap in both of them. "Kate?" He managed to guess while blinking furiously.

"Yeah," the confirmation was accompanied by a chuckle. "Here." Boone felt a steadying hand on the back of his head; a few handfuls of water splashed up into his face. Kate wiped her fingers across his forehead and through his hair, clearing the rest of the soap before it could run into his eyes as well.

He wiped his eyes and thanked her.

"Where's Jack?" Boone asked now that he could see her clearly.

"Still sleeping," she'd dropped her towel and was standing under the spout next to him.

"Shannon too," he offered, even though Kate hadn't asked.

She shot him an unreadable look then ducked back under the water.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned.

She stepped out from under the stream, and turned to him. "It means, Boone, that this doesn't make any sense. You haven't spoken to each other in weeks, I know you haven't, someone would have seen you, and given that gossip has replaced television as our only form of entertainment, everyone would have known. But now suddenly she's not your sister and you're living together?"

"She's _not_ my sister," He asserted.

"I'm not questioning that part. It's the rest of it that doesn't add up, Boone." She stared at him, obviously mystified, wanting him to help her understand. He'd never been particularly close to Kate, but he respected her, enough to want to try and explain. They were going to have to explain everything to everyone eventually anyway; he just would have preferred to do it with Shannon present.

"You always have naked discussions here at the rape caves?" Shannon was standing just outside the limit of their peripheral vision, her arms crossed and her lips set in a line, a dangerous tilt to her head.

Kate gave her a distasteful look and turned her back, stepping under the shower again leaving Boone to deal with her. Petulant, pampered, spoiled daddy's girls were so not her thing; before last night she wouldn't have thought they were Boone's either, even though he was southern Cali through and through, he seemed to have more substance than that.

"We're showering Shan, you usually do that naked." Boone explained patiently.

"Yeah, and usually alone too," she glared at him.

"Shan, that's just not practical. Think about it."

"I don't _want_ to think about it, Boone. I don't want to think about someone else seeing you naked."

"Shan, we used to have naked pool parties at the house all the time when our folks were gone, you never had a problem with it then." Boone reasoned, even though he rarely ever stripped down to nothing on those occasions, far too timid and modest, though Shannon had at the very least been topless within the first five minutes.

"I didn't have a problem because you were just my brother then, Boone! Now, maybe I don't want other women seeing you naked." She knew deep down she wasn't making sense, but her hormones were raging wildly.

"Shan, I'm still your brother." Even as he said it, he realized how wrong it sounded.

"I hate you." She spat, like a petulant toddler, spinning on her heel and stalking away. Kate shot him another look, although unlike the first one this one spoke volumes.

Boone rubbed his hands over his face and drew a beleaguered sigh. Christ if she wasn't bad enough to deal with on a good day, now she was irrational as well? 'Why did I ever think I loved her?' he asked on only the second day of their new relationship.


	4. Chapter 4

Boone quickly finished his shower, and made apologies to Kate.

When he got back to his place, the space outside the door where he'd last seen her suitcase was vacant, and the jeans he'd carefully draped over the top of it were discarded in the dirt along with his splint. He felt a momentary panic as he stared at the empty spot, wondering if she'd already left him, reaching forward with an unsteady hand he pulled a corner of the door flap back.

Her crap was all over the place, his formerly orderly home now looked like a Macy's dressing room at the height of a Boxing Day sale. He didn't know if he should be relieved she was still there or pissed that she'd trashed the place. Boone entered and crossed to where Shannon was kneeling in front of her now empty suitcase, careful not to entangle his feet or his 'crutch' in a wayward t-shirt or skirt and fall crashing to the floor.

Shannon was holding a pair of shorts against her chest and sniffling quietly.

"Shan?" Boone asked tentatively, with her back to him, he couldn't read her mood.

"I don't even know why I brought any of this stuff. It's all too tight now." She held the shorts out and sobbed once. "This are my biggest pair, and I can barely get them done up. I'm getting so fat!"

Boone pressed a hand to his head, his mind close to melt down from trying to keep up with her mercurial mood swings. 'Six more months of this shit?' He groaned. They were stranded on a desert island with polar bears and psychopaths and she was worried about getting fat and that her Gap shorts weren't maternity?

"Shannon, you're not getting fat, you're pregnant, and we'll get you some more clothes later. There's a whole storeroom of extra stuff for you to pick from, and there's Claire's maternity clothes too. I'm sure she'll let you have them." Boone told her, placatingly.

"You think I'm being silly." She accused, reading the tone of his voice, but she stopped sobbing.

"No, I don't think you're being silly, well…maybe a bit I do, but I'm having a hard time keeping up here. Are all pregnant women like this? Or am I just extra blessed with a whacked out one? What's gotten into you?" Boone dropped into brother mode, forgetting to tiptoe around her.

"You got into me Boone. Or did you forget that already?" Shannon threw the shorts at him.

"No Shannon, I didn't forget." He huffed in a tired voice, catching the item before it hit him in the face. "I mean, why are you crying over your clothes, and why did you freak out at the shower?"

"Because maybe I don't want to shower in public once I look like I've swallowed a beach ball, idiot!" Boones' bitchy sister spat.

"What's that got to do with _me_ showering? Jesus Shannon, it was like you were jealous of Kate. She's with Jack, why the hell would she want me? Just look at me, I'm skinny and covered with scars, I've got a bum leg, and I trip over my own feet." Boones' voice was increasing in volume now, as the siblings ramped up into a full-fledged fight.

"So I'm an idiot now?" Her eyes flashed dangerously.

"How did I just call you an idiot?" Boone cried in mystification.

"You're not good enough for Kate, but somehow you're good enough for me? I'm so pathetic that I get the runt of the litter?" She poked him hard in the chest almost sending him sprawling, he still hadn't reattached his splint, and hovered his right leg over the ground, desperately trying not to put his foot down.

"Your girlfriends used to think I was hot enough for them!" He wasn't even making any sense anymore, completely contradicting his early statement that he was unappealing.

"Well I wished you'd knocked one of _them_ up instead of me, and _she'd_ ended up stuck with you!" She was almost spitting in his face.

The door flap was thrown back, and Jack entered without being invited. "Enough!"

The two were facing off against each other, Boone in just a towel and Shannon bare legged in one of his t-shirts, their faces inches apart.

"I'm sure they can hear you on the beach. Where's your splint?" He demanded of Boone. "And you're pregnant?" He turned on Shannon.

"Outside the door," Boone muttered as Shannon pouted "Yeah," sullenly, each of them answering the question Jack had directed at them.

Correctly surmising that Boone would be the easier one to deal with Jack ignored the more startling of the two answers and turned to the boy. "One more week Boone, just give me one more week wearing it. I know you're getting frustrated, and fed up, but just humour me on this."

Boone nodded in agreement, the two of them looking like kids getting a dressing down from their father as they faced him, heads hanging low.

"So you're pregnant, and it's his," Jack addressed Shannon. "I guess that explains why you're suddenly living together now, I thought there had to be a piece of the puzzle missing." Jack ran a hand over his short hair as he regarded the pair. "Just when did you have an opportunity? Except for right after Boone's accident, and he was _hardly_ in any shape to procreate then, you've barely spoken to each since the crash, and you sure as hell didn't look like a couple when you _were_ speaking. So…?"

"It was _before_ the crash, the night before, just the once." Boone admitted sheepishly. "And I only found out about the baby yesterday."

"A one night stand?" Jack exclaimed in surprise and looked at Boone, thinking that the kid must still be reeling at the unexpected news. Jesus, hadn't they ever heard of condoms? "You hardly seem the type."

"And I _do_?" Shannon's head came up as she glared at Jack; Boone winced as the edge crept back into her tone.

Jack just looked at her flatly, indicating quite clearly that 'yes' she did in fact.

"Are you going to let him talk to me like that?" She demanded of Boone.

"Well, you _did_ come to my hotel. And you _did_ throw yourself at me, even though I tried to push you off and told you no." He pointed out, shrugging and raising an eyebrow.

Shannon took a breath, obviously intending to launch into another tirade, but Jack cut her off. "Enough, not again, no one wants to listen to you."

She pinched her lips together, her eyes narrowed with anger.

Jack glanced between the two of them, "I'm sure there's a _very_ interesting story here, but I don't want to hear it. So September 21st then?" They both nodded. "At least we have a conception date, that'll make guessing the delivery date easier. You feel alright?" He asked Shannon.

She nodded, "Yeah," The fight gone out of her.

"Maybe you should check her out anyway?" Boone suggested.

"No, I'm not an obstetrician and besides, if she feels okay, she probably is. Barring any complications, I'd say you two are going to be parents in about six months, but no more fighting. Boone, you're recovering from, well, dying actually, and Shannon, you're going to have a baby. Unless _you_ want a relapse and _you_ want it arriving prematurely, you're going to have to control yourselves," Jack told them flat out.

Again the pair nodded sheepishly, muttering agreement.

"Good," Jack turned to go.

"What about sex?" Boone asked, suddenly remembering a concern that he'd had as they'd made love in the night.

"I'd say you've got the basics covered." Jack commented dryly, purposely misunderstanding. He wondered at the oddity of the question when they'd just been at each other's throats, why was the boy thinking about sex now? Oh, right twenty-two, he vaguely remembered being that young.

He could only imagine the complexity of their relationship, and how they were struggling to cope with its completely new facets; Kate and he had discussed it at length last night in their quarters. The stepbrother/stepsister thing didn't bother them, but he knew it would disturb some, and that Boone and Shannon were undoubtedly going to have to face some awkward moments. It was going to be new territory for each of them, though the bond between them appeared strong, it was going to require some major attitude adjustments on their part. He only hoped the camp survived their _adjustment_ period without ruptured eardrums, or a homicide.

"No, I mean," He gestured a bit helplessly at Shannon, "before the baby comes, how long…I mean, how close to the due date can we…is it safe?" He fell silent, his face burning bright scarlet.

Shannon looked at him with an amused grin on her face as he fumbled out the gist of his question. She didn't even realize he'd wondered about that; it certainly hadn't occurred to her, though trust Boone to consider the details.

"As long as it's comfortable for Shannon, I guess. She'll know." Jack shook his head at the two of them in exasperation and turned quickly and left.

Jack leaned against the outside wall of the cave briefly and took a deep breath; he certainly had his doubts. They were both barely out of their teens, Shannon almost certainly not ready for motherhood, though he held out more hope for Boone's suitability as a father. The boy was unquestionably very responsible, though from the looks of things, she certainly knew how to push his buttons. It was going to prove to be an interesting six months.

He dispersed the small crowd that had gathered, drawn by the raised voices, as had he; the gossip would race through the camp quickly, he knew. Everyone had undoubtedly heard every word from inside. Jack headed off to tell Kate what the missing piece of the puzzle was and do his part to spread the news.

Now alone again, Boone apologized, though he wasn't really sure what for, and got dressed, while Shannon cleaned up the mess she'd made. Both of them silently avoiding each other, a feat almost impossible in the small space, but they managed. Once he pulled a fresh t-shirt over his head, letting it fall untucked over his jeans, Boone announced, "I have to get to work."

"Work? What work?" Shannon demanded sharply.

He explained that they were all assigned different tasks, Jacks' whole 'live together, die alone' theme. One of his jobs was preparing the fruit for breakfast. It was a nice stationary job, something he could manage to do while seated. He was an early riser and had good knife skills; so he'd been given it. Besides this way was also safer, you had one person with a knife doing all the cutting, instead of a several people with knives, which would have exponentially increased the risk of accident.

"They've turned you to a scullery maid? How cute," Shannon said sarcastically, still smarting from Jack's tongue lashing.

"We all have to help out, Shan. And besides, I _think_ a scullery maid did dishes." He told her, though not entirely positive he was correct.

"Whatever Boone, go chop your fruit, be a nice little kitchen slave. I'm going to have a shower. We only have sponge baths at the beach and swimming in the ocean. It'll be nice being even marginally clean for a change." She waved her hand in dismissal.

"Come and find me when you're done?" Boone requested, hopefully.

She pushed past him and out the door, pausing long enough to grab a dry towel from a rock shelf and give him a brief smile and a nod, his puppy dog eyes thawing her slightly. "I will."

Shannon stood under the shower, replaying the events of the morning. Something was going to have to put the brakes to the roller coast ride they'd been on since yesterday when she'd told Boone everything. If not, their attempt to mend the horrifically damaged bridges of their past and forge a future together was doomed before it even started. They needed to slow things down; they needed to find some alone time to talk. She was pregnant with Boone's child, but that certainly didn't obligate him; as he'd just pointed out to Jack, _she'd_ seduced _him_. She wanted him, she was sure of that, she wanted them to have a future together, but there were so many factors working against it. 'I need to apologize to him. I need to apologize for everything, but he needs to understand where _I'm_ coming from, how _I_ feel.' Shannon wondered if she was still being too self-centred, after all it wasn't Boone that had actually done anything to her; it was his mother, yet still she harboured bitterness towards him, even as she loved him.

She wrapped the towel around herself and wandered back to their place, spying Boone as she passed, conversing with one of the other survivors, a warm smile on his face. He caught a glimpse of her and turned the full force of his Carlyle Enterprises smile on her, this time it was genuine, not just flash to win over a client. She blushed and grinned back at him, holding her finger up in the air, 'one' she mouthed, and he nodded.

The guy he was talking to turned and followed his gaze, "I heard congratulations are in order, you guys have a baby on the way."

"Yeah," Boone acknowledged as he portioned the man's breakfast out, careful to omit the guava; Andy didn't like guava. "Thanks."

"Good luck with that." Andy commented a bit sceptically as he headed off with his bowl.

Boone breathed a bit of a bitter laugh, 'We'll need it,' he thought. He'd been mulling over many of the same points that Shannon had and had come to much the same conclusion. If they didn't sort themselves out soon, things were going to get a whole lot worse, before, or _if_, they had even a glimmer of a chance of getting better.


	5. Chapter 5

The one minute Shannon had indicated she'd join him in by holding up one finger turned into five, as Boone continued to dole out breakfast. He finally felt a hand brush his elbow softly.

"Hi," She smiled, "Can I help?"

"I've got it covered, but thanks. I'm almost done here anyway." There was only one more piece of fruit, a papaya, to cut.

She took the opportunity of their moment alone to speak to him, "Boone, I've been thinking. You know, about this morning and how quickly things turned ugly?"

He looked up from scraping the black seeds out of the yellow flesh of the fruit in his hand, "Me too, Shan."

"I think we need to talk." They both said at once and then laughed in amusement. "Jinx" they blurted and smiled at the juvenile practice.

"When you're done here maybe?" Shannon suggested. "There's stuff I need to say, it's going to be pretty hard most of it, I don't want to, you know me, good at avoidance, but I know it has to be done if this is going to work."

"I need to get some things out too. We'll take it slow. It's going to take some time; we won't get it all…"

"Boone! How about some of that guava?" A bowl was thrust out interrupting him mid sentence. Boone greeted the pushy, inconsiderate newcomer and spooned a selection of chunks of fruit into his outstretched bowl, a bit of a forced smile on his face.

"Not one of your favourites?" Shannon asked as the guy left.

"Not really." Boone acknowledged. "How about we talk where we're guaranteed to get some privacy, at the clearing where you found me yesterday, once we're done everything we need to do here?"

"You have more to do? You're not expected to serve everyone too are you?" Shannon asked in an amused tone.

"No! Jeeze Shan. I'm not some indentured servant; required to work to pay off a debt, I just like to help out. You know that." He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you're a regular boy scout." She picked up some segments of fruit, "Later then," she agreed and popped the few pieces in her mouth as she waited for him to finish.

When he'd cut the last of it, he poured some water over the sticky mess of his hands and his hunting knife and wiped them carefully, sliding the huge weapon into its sheath at the front of his belt.

"Best be careful there brother dear, I wouldn't want you to have an accident." Shannon smirked.

"Funny," he replied shortly, "Let's go get you something else to wear." She was dressed in the same clothes she'd had on yesterday, the too-tight shorts she'd been bitching about earlier and a tank top that Boone now noticed showed way more cleavage than he remembered her having, or had noticed the day before.

Shannon noticed him frowning as he ogled her chest, "Yes bonehead they're bigger. At least pregnancy has one benefit."

He reached a hand out, about to cup one of her breasts in curiosity and then pulled it back quickly, 'What the hell am I doing?' Boone wondered, his eyes wide in astonishment at the liberty he'd been about to take with his sister, and in public…no it was okay, she was his…he still wasn't sure what she was, they still hadn't decided that quite yet, and they weren't really in public, it was just the island, and it hadn't stopped them from making out last night by the fire. Fuck this was all getting way too confusing, was he allowed to touch her or wasn't he and when? He shook his head as he tried to clear it and determine his proper role, the lines still blurred, all of it just too new.

She reached out and grabbed the hand that was still hovering in the air and guided it back to where he'd been going to place it. "Bigger, see?" She smiled at him encouragingly.

He nodded, weighing it in his hand and comparing it to his memory of Sydney. He leaned in to kiss her, not quite making it to her lips when someone cleared their throat at his elbow. He withdrew the hand uncomfortably, and sat back.

One of the women was regarding them with a raised eyebrow, "Interrupting something?"

"No…no, we were just leaving, help yourself," Boone waved at the fruit and scrambled to stand, Shannon regarded him with amusement, as always getting a kick out of embarrassing him, she'd seen the woman approaching before she'd reached for his hand. The interruption had certainly made his case for waiting till they had a degree of privacy before they talked things through though.

The cave he led her to had piles of carefully sorted clothes on the meticulously swept ground around most of the perimeter. Stacks of shorts and pants, t-shirts and dress shirts, undergarments, socks, even evening wear awaited her exploration. She wandered over to a stack of cocktail dresses and picked up an extremely skimpy silver sequined one, holding it up in front of her.

"How about this?" Shannon asked with a suggestive leer.

"You wear that into the jungle and meet up with one of The Others, he's more likely to ask you for dinner and drinks than try and kill or kidnap you." Boone commented from where he'd seated himself on floor. He had the backpack he'd picked up from the corner unzipped by his side and was rummaging though the contents. A kids' t-shirt that had been on top of a pile of stuff by the pack was in his lap. He paused in his search of its' interior.

"Shan?" He was suddenly very focused on her. She turned and tilted her head questioningly, given the intensity of his gaze automatically giving him her full attention. "Please promise me you won't go anywhere by yourself. Please make sure you're always with someone."

"You go places by _yourself_." She pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm not a pregnant woman." He stated the obvious. Worry in his eyes, Boone continued. "Shannon, they took Claire, even though Charlie was with her, they still took her. I'd ask you not to leave camp, but it's not realistic or even fair for me to ask you to stay here till the baby comes. Besides, how safe is it even here? You're the one who named them the rape caves. And even though it doesn't really seem to make a difference if we travel in pairs, at least its a little measure of added safety. Now that it appears that I _have_ you, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. Please promise me?"

Shannon crossed the space and knelt by his side, her hand coming up to cup his cheek; she gazed into his eyes for a minute then kissed him gently. "I promise, Boone."

He relaxed a bit and took a breath, then nodded and smiled at her. "Thanks, that makes me feel..."

Having given her acquiescence, she considered the matter closed, picking the t-shirt up off his lap, she cut him off. "What're you doing with this?"

Shannon listened to him in amusement as he explained that yet another of his assigned tasks was doing mending. Once again it was one of Jacks' ideas, like the fruit chopping it involved a central location, and one person doing the work. In the case of sewing there less chance of losing something irreplaceable; the odds of which were fairly high with something as small as a needle.

"You're kidding me, right? They've turned you into a seamstress too? Do you even _know_ how to sew?" She questioned derisively.

"Shan, I was a wedding planner before I became C.E.O. Do you _know_ how many dresses and tuxes I had to do last minute repairs to? I _always_ carried a complete sewing kit in my car." Boone shook his head and rolled his eyes at having to explain something to her he thought should have been obvious. He had a feeling there was a lot of eye rolling in store for his future.

"Well, excuse me Betsy Ross." She flipped a hand at him and went to rummage through the piles of garments.

Halfway through looking through a pile of t-shirts, she suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth and, wide eyed, bolted from the cave. Boone could hear her retching up the few pieces of fruit she'd eaten earlier, he briefly considered trying to get up to go to her, but figured that by the time he'd actually made it out there, she'd probably be done. He waited in frustration and watched the entrance for her return, pulling some water from his bag in preparation. When Shannon returned, wiping her hand across her mouth, looking a little pale, he held the bottle up wordlessly. After swilling a mouthful of the welcomed water around, she spit carefully in a corner and then drank some of the contents of the bottle.

"At least I didn't puke on you." She commented with a shrug.

"Yeah, thanks for that. You okay?" He took the empty bottle from her and put it back in his bag.

She nodded, "Fine, I'm getting used to it, plus I have all those years of experience keeping thin for ballet, remember?"

They'd shared an adjoining bathroom, and as she was notorious for not locking the door, he'd often walked in to the sight of her hunched over the toilet, her finger down her throat. He'd tried for months to get her to stop, pleading, promising anything, telling her how gorgeous she was and that she was hurting herself, telling her she was hurting him. But it all fell on deaf ears, and there was no way he was going to go to their parents and rat her out. They had a pact, forged soon after they met, secrets stayed strictly between them, and unfortunately they both had a lot of secrets to keep.

"I remember." Boone acknowledged sadly, and went back to his mending, unpleasant memories swirling through his brain.

By the time he was finished with his sewing, Shannon had an armload of replacement garments selected.

She took the repaired clothes that he'd carefully folded and put them at the entrance to the cave at his direction.

Back in their quarters Shannon changed into something that wasn't quite as tight and then looked at him expectantly, "We going to the clearing now?"

Boone shook his head, "I've still got…"

"What? Are you supposed to make all the beds or something?" Shannon cut in. He figured he'd better get used to being interrupted, it had already happened three times that day, and it was still morning.

"No." He stopped himself before he rolled his eyes again. "No beds other than ours. Which might actually be easier for you to do, at least till I'm less hampered." He looked pointedly down at the rumpled mess. She'd been the last to leave that morning.

She sniffed and gave him a bit of a glare, but bent and made a half hearted effort at making the pallet of rushes and assorted blankets more presentable, muttering to herself all the time. "It's a fucking cave, but Martha fucking Stewart wants his bed made. What? Film crew expected at eleven?"

Boone just stood there watching her, refusing to be baited, or to tell her to leave it he'd do it himself, which he certainly would have if he'd had two functioning legs.

The next stop was at the edge of camp. There was a bed of gravel, on which fish bones lay carefully spread out in a single layer, beside a larger flat-topped rock with a depression in the centre. A smaller piece of stone, shaped much like a miniature bowling pin lay on its' surface. Boone worked his way down the pole and knelt, picking up several of the bones and testing them for something, Shannon wasn't sure for what.

"What's this?" She demanded, pointing at the piscine graveyard.

Once again Boone explained yet another of Jacks' ideas. They dried the bones and then ground them up into a powder to use as a calcium supplement. It was available for anyone who wanted at their discretion, but Boone had been ordered to take some every day, to help his bones knit, Claire because she was nursing and Aaron because he was growing. "You should take some too now that you're pregnant." While he'd been talking he'd uncapped a water bottle from his pack and poured some of the already prepared powder into it from one of the bottles stowed under the rock. After shaking it vigorously, he held it out to her.

Shannon looked at it a bit sceptically and then drank half of it before she could actually think about what she was consuming. She held the bottle down to him, working her tongue in her mouth, expecting a chalky residue, but the suspended solution had actually all gone down. Once Boone quaffed his measure, they finally headed down the trail.


End file.
